Hold Me Close
by Kayla-chan1990
Summary: SPOILER WARNING What do Toph and Sokka really think about him carrying her around the Western Air Temple. Contains Tokka and hints at Kataang.


HI everyone, this is my first Avatar fiction, so in my opnion it didn't turn out as long as I wanted it to, but I think it turned out ok. I hope you like it. I tried my best to keep them in-character. Anyway just as a WARNING, it has Spoilers for WAT and takes place after FBM(spoilers from this episode aren't mentioned)Oh and I can't get those little scene seperator things in my story so I used the first letter of Toph and Sokka instead. ENJOY THE STORY.

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar, if I did I would be worried about being introuble for knowing what happens in episodes not yet aired here, because they would have already been aired...lol

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It was early in the morning when Sokka entered the main room of the Western Air Temple and sat  
beside the fire. Katara was cooking breakfast, Aang and Zuko were practicing firebending near by,  
Haru, Teo, and The Duke were off exploring the temple again, and apparently Toph wasn't up  
yet. Then about five minutes later they felt part of temple shake.

"Well I guess that means that Toph is awake now." Katara said when the ground stopped moving.  
They had all gotten used to Toph doing that ever since her feet had been burned.

"Right, I'll go get her." Sokka said as he headed towards Toph's room

"Is it just me, or does he seem to be happy when he has to go get her, and I have also noticed  
that she doesn't seem to mind either?" Zuko asked after Sokka was out of hearing range, causing Aang  
and Katara to looked shocked.

"What?" He asked confused by their expressions.

"We're just shocked that even the newest member of the group has caught onto their antics." Aang  
said laughing.

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'Knock, Knock'

"Come on in Snoozles." Toph said when she heard someone knocking on her door.

"How did you know it was me?" Sokka asked, entering the room.

"Oh, I don't know, could it be the fact that I can still 'see' with my hands?" She began, a smirk  
forming on her face as she continued. "Or could it be because you were the one to come get me  
yesterday, and the day before, and the one before that, and the one befo..."

"OK, ok, I get it, now stop teasing me or I'll leave you in here and let someone else some come get you."  
He said interrupting her rant.

"Yeah, uh-huh, you tried that three days ago, then when you got about ten feet down the hall, you  
came back because you felt guilty." She said still smirking, her arms now crossed.

"Whatever, let's just get going before all of the food is gone." he said as he picked up the injured  
earthbender and started carrying her to the others not noticing the slight change in the shade of  
her cheeks.

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After they got to the others, and everyone had eaten breakfast, Katara checked to see how Toph's feet  
were healing.

"It seems like you should be able to walk by the end of the week." Katara said as she finished the  
check up.

"SWEET, I can finally get back to showing everyone who is really in charge around here with my  
earthbending." Toph said excitedly pumping her fist into the air. "OH, but that also means that I will  
loose my personal servant." She added pointing behind herself, in the direction of where Sokka was  
telling jokes which was making the others laugh, just more so at him, then with him.

"Uh-huh, what you really mean is that you are going to miss being carried everywhere in my brother's  
arms, right?" Katara asked smiling in almost a whisper so others would not hear.

"I ABSOLUTLELY DO NOT LIKE IT." Toph yelled causing everyone to wonder what was going on.

"What don't you like Toph?" Sokka asked confused.

"IT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS, SNOOZLES." She yelled again and used her hands to form an  
earth tent around herself for privacy, since she didn't feel like asking Sokka to carry her back to her  
room at the moment. 'Of course I like it, not that I will ever tell him that.' She though to herself as she  
started playing around with her meteor bracelet, her face now completely red.

Back outside the tent everyone started looking at Katara, trying to get an answer to what had set Toph off.

"Katara, what did you say to her?" Sokka asked a slight hidden anger in his voice.

Yeah, well I can't tell you because that would give away a secret of Toph's, which is wrong to do."  
Katara said in a small let-it-go voice. This caused everyone else, except Sokka to make a small 'OH' sound.

"Huh, I don't get it, what do you all know that I don't?" Sokka asked curiously, but before he had a chance  
to get an answer, the earth beneath him shifted and he fell flat on his face. He looked up just in time to see  
the door to a certain earth tent slam back shut. "Ok, I get it, I'll leave this subject alone...for now," he said  
as he got up and headed towards his room.

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"What is it that they won't tell me?" Sokka asked himself as he started pacing back and forth in his room.

"Everyone else seems to know, even Zuko, and he hasn't even been here that long." He said as he  
continued to think out loud.

"AND WHY DID TOPH YELL AT ME...I DIDN'T EVEN DO ANYTHING." He yelled annoyed as  
he sat down and sighed. 'And how am I ever going to tell her how much I like her if she can always find  
away to yell at me.' He though as he started staring at the meteor sword that matched Toph's bracelet.

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"Toph, you can leave your earth tent now, Sokka is gone." Katara said knocking on the wall of the tent.

"What makes you think he has anything to do with why I'm in here?" Toph asked angrily as she  
lowered one of the walls.

"Because, you like him." Katara, Aang, and Zuko all said at the same exact time, which led to all  
of them having a pebble flicked at their heads.

"Shut up, that has nothing to do with any of you... And how come everyone has figured it out?" Toph  
asked not really wanting an answer as she threw her hands up in frustration.

"Well atleast your willing to admit it to us." Katara said smiling at Toph's reaction to being found out.

"Now, all you have to do is be able to tell him." Aang nodding his head in agreement with himself.

"HA, like I'll ever do that, and your not the best person to give that kind of advice Twinkle Toes." Toph  
told him, smirking when she felt his heartbeat speed up.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Aang said nervously, as he shifted his eyes in Katara's direction  
and started blushing.

"Seriously though you should tell him." Zuko added trying to help out his new friends.

"Sorry Flamey, but I have to have known someone a lot longer before I start taking their advice." Toph said  
and turned in the opposite direction. 'But, I guess they are right, maybe I should tell him... after my feet  
get better so I can run away from him if I need to.' She thought as she once again closed her earth tent.

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"YES, it feels so great to be able to 'see' with my feet again." Toph said happily as she started  
earthbending and shooting rocks everywhere. It was five days later and Katara had fianally given  
Toph permission to walk again.

"You do know, if someone that didn't know you ever heard that sentence, they would think you had  
gone crazy." Sokka said jokingly.

"Do you WANT to be hit by a giant bolder, or are you just an idiot, besides you should be happy too,  
since you don't have to play 'Appa' for me anymore." She said shooting a rock at his foot.

"Yeah, just great, thank someone who has helped you the past few weeks by comparing them to a  
giant fluffy animal." Sokka said sarcastically.

"Yeah, your right, it was wrong of me to insult Appa." Toph said laughing, with a smirk as she turned  
his own remark back on him.

"Toph, Sokka, would you two please stop playing your little 'I'm more sarcastic than you game, it's  
getting annoying." Katara said getting tired of their constant flirting.

"It's not my fault that everything he says sounds like he is saying 'I'm stupid, tease me.' It's like he  
is a human target." Toph said forming a target around Sokka with earthbending, causing him to be standing in  
the middle of a giant bulls-eye.

"Toph, I am not a target, and I am not stupid either." Sokka said getting mad about being called dumb  
so many times in the course of two minutes.

"Yes, you are." Toph said smirking as she crossed her arms and used her newly healed feet to shoot  
the middle of the target fifty feet into the air, then dropped it back down quickly causing Sokka to hit  
the ground hard. "A smart person would have moved from the middle of the target." She added holding  
back laughter, Sokka glaring at her from the ground.

"Ugh, I give up you two flirt all you want, just don't destroy the temple in the process." Katara said  
knowing it would get their attention, which worked because they both stopped what they were doing  
and turned in Katara's direction.

"WHAT, we are not, this is just how best friends act." Sokka said angrilly, mad that his sister had just  
basically told Toph he was flirting. "Right, Toph?" He asked the young earthbender beside him.

"Uhh, yeah, right so mind your own business Sugar Queen." Toph said with anger and also something  
else that Sokka couldn't define in her voice, and then she stormed off.

"I wonder what's wrong with her?" Sokka asked worryingly.

"Well, you are her 'best friend'', why don't you go see what's wrong, and maybe you can help her." Katara subjested.

"Ok, I will go help her." He said as he went to go check on Toph.

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Sokka walked around the temple for about ten minutes looking for Toph before he found her sitting  
on one of the many balconies of the temple. She appeared to be forming shapes with something.  
When Sokka got closer and sat next to her he realized it was her meteor bracelet.

"So, what caused you to get mad at me this time?" Sokka asked in calm worried voice.

"What makes you think that you're the one I'm mad at?" Toph asked bending the meteor back onto her arm.

"Well, because this is twice in a week that you got mad after I commented on something Katara said  
to you, and because both times it seemed like everyone knew something that I didn't... and also  
because you're not the only one to fumble around with space earth when thinking about the only other  
person who owns an item made with it." He told her saying the last part quietly, but still load enough  
for Toph to hear.

"What do you mean?" She asked, turning her unseeing eyes towards him.

"When I get confused about you I will start sharpening and cleaning my meteor sword, with the  
same look on my face that you had just now when you were earthbending your bracelet." He said  
with a small smile on his face. "So what's got you so confused?" He asked her kindly.

'Well, I did say I would tell him after my feet had healed, I guess I might as well get it over with.' Toph thought  
to herself as she shifted sitting positions. "Yeah I guess I am confused, but not by you, although it is  
about you, and I guess that is just because I don't know how to tell you what I am thinking without you  
laughing, or making some sarcastic remark." She said with a sad smile on her face.

"I promise I won't laugh, be sarcastic, or be rude at all." Sokka said placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Well to be honest it took me awhile to figure out for myself why I got confused by you, then when I finally  
realized why I got even more confused, and a little bit scared and creeped out." Toph paused, her cheeks  
becoming red as she continued. "But I have decided that it's just going to keep bugging me until I say it, so  
the reason I am so confused is because, because I love you." She finally said, lowering her head trying to  
hide her now completely red face. "And now you must think I am insane." She added, with sadness in  
her voice.

"If you are insane, then I guess I must be too." Sokka said happily causing Toph's blind eyes to widen.

"Wha-what are you talking about Sokka?" Toph asked trying to figure out what he meant through the vibrations  
in the earth.

"What I mean, is that if you are insane because you love me, then so am I, because I love you too, Toph." Sokka  
told her smiling, and Toph could feel his heartbeat speed up, but not in a lying way, it was in a happy way, causing  
her to smile.

"You...you aren't lying." Toph said out load just to reassure what she already knew.

"Why would I even try to lie to the self-proclaimed 'world's-greatest-earthbender', when even though she says she loves  
me, will probably kill me for what I'm about to do." He said half-jokingly as learned down so his face was even with  
her's, and kissed her causing her blind eyes to widen once again in shock, but she kissed him back.

"Don't worry Sokka, I won't kill you, but just for the fact that if I did I wouldn't be able to kiss you again." Toph said  
smirking when they separated. "But, if you EVER tell the others how sappy I got, you will be seriously injured." She  
added, punching him in the arm for emphasis.

"Don't worry if they ask for details when we tell them we're together, I won't say a thing, I'll just agree with whatever  
you say, not that they would believe me anyway." He said laughing.

"Good, now let's go back before Sugar Queen sends everyone out to search for us." She said smiling, as she stood  
up and started walking when suddenly her feet were off the ground. "Snoozles, what are you doing, my feet are  
healed, you know I don't need you to carry me around anymore, so put me down NOW." Toph yelled trying to get  
down, her cheeks completely red.

"No, no I will not, during the time that your feet were burned, I started to enjoy carrying you around, and now  
that I have a reason to be able to without using an injury as an excuse." Sokka told her smiling as he started  
carrying her towards the main room of the temple.

"Whatever, but could you at least put me down before we get to the others." Toph said crossing her arms, but  
relaxed when she realized he wasn't letting her down anytime soon. 'I draw the line at letting him know that I  
enjoy this too.' She thought, a smile forming on her face, which Sokka saw, but decided it best not to say anything,  
and he just continued walking.

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When they got back to the the main area of the temple Sokka put her down before they were where they could  
be seen by the others like Toph had asked him. They got there when everyone had just started eating lunch so  
they grabbed their food and sat down next to each other, closer then normal, which the others all noticed and  
looked at them smiling. Sokka saw this but decided to play dumb.

"Um... why are you guys smiling and staring at us like that?" Sokka asked in fake confusion, which got Toph's  
attention and she stopped eating, put down her bowl and crossed her arms.

"Yes, please explain, what is so exciting about a blind earthbender and an idiot that you would want to observe  
us." Toph asked in a sarcastically innocent voice.

"You finally told each other, didn't you?" Katara asked knowing the answer already.

"Yeah, what about it, that's no reason to stare at people, especially when one of us can't tell that you are  
staring." Toph replied with a smirk, and Sokka started laughing at everyone's expression to Toph's straight-to-the-point  
attitude.

"So Toph, does that mean your going to stop using Sokka as a human earthbending target?" Aang asked with a  
goofy smile after he and the others had recovered from shock.

"NO WAY, him liking me back doesn't mean that I have to give up my favorite hobby." Toph laughed and shifted  
the earth under Sokka causing him to fall on his side. When he sat back up he was going to yell, but smirked  
when he got a different idea.

"Hey Toph, do you want to know what my new favorite hobby is?" He asked dumbly.

"Wow Snoozles, I wasn't aware that you were smart enough to even have a hob..." Toph started to say but  
was cut off when Sokka kissed her again, which she wouldn't have minded as much if the others weren't watching  
them, so she put up an earth wall in front of them until he pulled away. 'I am so going to kill him for that later.' She  
thought smiling.

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Well I hope you liked it. And I want to thank you for taking time to read it.

(P.S. I am 'TophFanGirl' on the ASN Forums.)


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